


Soliloquy of the Sea

by Squiji



Category: The Octonauts (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, M/M, Multi, Multiship, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:27:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28001640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squiji/pseuds/Squiji
Summary: Captain Barnacles of the royal British navy arrived at a small port town to deliver and carry cargo on one of his ships. What he didn't anticipate bumping into were pirates.
Relationships: Captain Barnacles/Kwazii (Octonauts), Captain Barnacles/Peso (Octonauts), Kwazii/Peso (Octonauts)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 16





	1. Captain of a Royal British Ship

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [But I'm a Penguin](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25231213) by [its_in_the_water](https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_in_the_water/pseuds/its_in_the_water). 



> Hello everyone! This is my first works and is highly inspired by @Its_in_the_water on this site. If you haven't heard of them (and you've heard of me?) please I highly recommend their story "But I'm a penguin!" Thank you so much for reading and enjoy!
> 
> Also P.S  
> I don't have a steady update schedule. I don't know if I'll update almost everyday, once a week, or once a month. So if you really enjoy this work check back once in a while and there might be a few updates. Also if you have any ideas for this work please leave a comment so you can tell me what you want to see and I might even include it!  
> <3<3<3

Barnacles looked around in disgust at all of the lowlifes that were in the bar. Currently, he was in a small port town in the middle of god knows with a small crew and on a tight deadline.

They were shipping goods to England but before he did he had his presence requested by someone to meet at a bar. They said they had news about Calico jack himself.  
Calico Jack is one of the most notorious pirates and has been nothing but trouble. He was rumored to be a lion shifter. 

Shifters are those who can transform themselves into animals. It was believed that they were descended from the gods but that’s just hearsay. Nowadays shifters still are regarded as the best of society but sometimes people are hunted for it. Who wouldn’t want a spy who can turn into a small animal and listen in on conversations? Or have a trophy of a skull with tusks and human features?  
Barnacles himself was one but it did make work a bit more difficult. He couldn’t go into his natural form without overheating in the summer. He also couldn’t get rid of his small tail and two small fluffy ears. No matter how hard he tried he could never teach himself how to make them just look normal or get rid of the little fizzy thing on his back, that wagged when he was happy. 

Someone dragged his shoulder down and whispered to him, “The orange-haired drunk in the corner was the informant.” His lieutenant was a small and angry-looking man who never said much besides things that related to his work.  
Barnacles nodded and sat across from the man and made an effort to make a noise to let him know he was there as he sat down.  
The skinny man across from him had bright orange hair. It was long and pulled back in a small ribbon and was greasy and messy to look at. He had two- are those ears? Well, he had two cat looking ears on top of his head. One had a piece of it cut off and both had a few golden earrings in them. Fake most likely, people in this town loved showing off what they didn’t have. His eyes were a gemstone green and had slits like a cat.  
The cat regarded the man in front of him with a look of distrust and immediately downed an entire bottle.

“So what did ya want to know,” his voice was scratchy with a thick accent.  
“That’s I was going to ask you,” Barnacles regarded him coldly.  
The cat laughed and nodded his head.  
“S’pose I was suppose ta’ give you the answers then… Alroight then, I saw a giant ship near ‘ere what was lowering a black flag that looked like it had crossbones and a skull on it.”  
“That’s it?”  
“Tha’s it,” He confirmed.

Barnacles couldn’t believe he wasted his time on the ramblings of a drunk idiot. A waste of someone with his abilities. He could have been the right-hand man of the queen being a shifter. Yet here he was, drowning in a bottle and saying falsehoods about seeing an alleged pirate ship.  
It was most likely a merchant’s vessel that had a black flag and some white details.  
Barnacles turned and left the cat to his alcohol and roughly pushed the chair into the table.  
The cat giggled as he left and waved goodbye at him.  
Barnacles rolled his eyes and left the bar, glad to be out of there. The smell was starting to burn his sensitive nose.

Outside it was a lovely day, the sun beat down on him as he walked. But the clouds sometimes came and offered him a bit of solace as he strolled. He needed to get back to the port and help finish packing the boat.  
Even though he was positive the cat made up the story and spoke nonsense it put him on edge and he was a bit more paranoid whenever he passed a man with a beard or feline features.  
Once he caught up to his lieutenant he smoothed his hair with his hand and put on his hat. Straightening it as he spoke to him.


	2. The carouser cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Was that drunken idiot really just a drunken idiot?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm going to post the first 2 3 chapters this week and then the next 2 or 3 next week. I swear I'll have an actual update schedule eventually.  
> Until then, I hope you enjoy! :3

Quazi waved to the Captain as he walked away. 

That may have been his best-drunk impression yet.  
Of course, he could have been drunk but that just ruins the fun of it. Also, he needed to be sober for what he was about to do next. He looked over at the table across from him and gave a nod at the girl sitting over there. 

Her chestnut hair hid a pair of dog ears that were a bit darker than her hair. She worse a dress that looked elegant but showed the she didn't have a lot of money.  
She nodded back and got up and walked out the same door the Captain had. 

He bought a bottle of rum for the road and left with it in hand.  
He put on his eyepatch and went out into the sunlight.

Today really is going to be a lovely day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like the fic? Hate how a certain character is written? Tell me about it!  
> Also because this was a very short update I'm going to update the next chapter with it.


	3. Scuttle of the Royal Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The captain could never have braced himself for the fight he was just in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright this is the last update of the week (I say that but I may not listen to myself lol).  
> I hope you enjoy!

Barnacles heard the gunshot before he saw what came after it. He whipped his head around and saw the shape and the masks of the very pirates he said probably weren’t anywhere near here.

Calico Jack and his crew were currently the most known and hated pirates. Each one in the crew was rumored to have a mask to hide their identity. They also say anyone who gets close enough to one of those masks doesn't live long after that.

The one in the middle of the group had a masquerade mask that wrapped around his head and looked a bit like a feline. It was hard to see details from where he stood but he had heard stories of that mask.  
The people around him had similar masks. One was a rabbit that had two sets of ears and whiskers. One of the ears didn't look like it was part of the mask.  
A dog with a snarling mouth and a spiked collar.   
The others were as remarkably made but he couldn't waste anytime studying them. 

Gunshots kept going off and Barnacles watched as his men got thrown to the ground and had their throats slit or simply shot in the head.   
Those who resisted got killed. Those who didn’t would look at the pirates and get knocked down and get beaten. 

He couldn't tell if they were alive but he couldn't anymore time. None of the men had weapons on them, they were all on the ship. They had just finished loading it.  
He ran on board and looked for as many muskets as he could so he could give some to the remaining men.  
He searched the entire ship but couldn’t find them anywhere.

He ran out once again carrying all that he found. A blunderbuss with a little bit of gunpowder in it. He aimed at the direction the pirates were once at and saw nothing. He looked around and got slammed to the floor of the deck. 

Barnacles tried to use the last of his strength to go into his natural form. In the end, it made him only more exhausted and he realized he would overheat in seconds if he did. He felt the world spin and his vision slowly leave. 

The last thing he saw was the cat mask lift and that damn drunk look at him and laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As mentioned (and will probably be mentioned on every update), If you don't like the way the story is going, tell me about it and what you personally would have changed! I will probably read you comment and maybe if you're lucky I may even take your comment into consideration.


	4. The ship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barnacles bit off a little more than he could chew and woke up in the hornets nest of pirates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! It's me, Squiji again.  
> Thank you so much for reading and I finally figured out my update schedule.  
> This will always update on Fridays but I may not be able to due to work or things like that but I will tell you if something like that happens.  
> Also I may have little extra chapters that I may upload randomly so make sure to check in here if you want to see that.
> 
> Ooo also before i forget this is *important*  
> So the world takes place sometime in the past (around the 1700's) and you'll see references to things from around the time i want my story based. But i also am not here to tell a very accurate story. I'm here to tell one to entertain and I really don't do as much research as I should. So if you see any historical inaccuracies like an outfit detail or even just like maybe a character has glasses but they weren't invented until later, tell me about it so I can fix it or even alter the story so maybe that character has their hands on the first version of glasses. Also as I mentioned with my creative liberties a couple of my locations will be made up and distances are different then they probably are. I know it would probably takes years to get from this place to this, but just to keep the story interesting it will be shortened to months so it still flows smoothly.
> 
> Thank you for reading and enjoy! <3

Barnacles jolted awake and nearly hit his head on the ceiling. 

He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and realized his feet and hands were chained. He looked up at the dim room he was in to see the sun had mostly gone down. A sunset had formed and the sky was as lovely as paint thrown on a canvas. The pinks were hiding under the gentle blue while a deep purple threatened the rest of the colors. There were the flecks of white and yellow across the heavens in the form of stars. The window was open and he could hear the gentle lapping of the sea.

The floor rocked and he realized where he was. 

He was currently on a pirate ship.

He tried to move but almost fainted from the rush his head gave him. 

Immediately after he did that, a person came out of the corner of the room and felt his forehead.

“Get away from me.” He growled at the figure

He let his eyes adjust and tried to look at who had just jumped away from him.

The man was short and skinny. He had white hair in the front and black hair in the back. Both were pulled back with most of the white parts hanging out and framing his face. His dark eyes looked black in the room and his pale skin almost appeared to glow against the little light left in there. His face was soft and gentle, it looked as though he could have been carved from marble; due to the many moles. As wide as his eyes were, they were rather small. His marble face looked as though it was carved into a tired expression, currently, though, it looked a bit fearful. He had a black coat on and a nice outfit underneath it.

What was someone like him doing on a ship with pirates?

The man’s fearful face turned quickly into more of a face that feigned anger and he grabbed something off the desk and faced the Captain again.

“If you ever so much as think of hurting me while I treat you, I will personally slit your throat.”  
His voice was thick with an accent that sounded like he didn’t speak English as much as his natural tongue.  
Though the man had a knife on the captain, he wasn’t very afraid of the one in front of him.

“That knife is so dull it wouldn’t cut butter.”

The man did a double-take and looked back at his weapon,  
“Ah I see, I grabbed the wrong one… now I just look silly don’t I,” he sheepishly put down the weapon he was holding and looked back at Barnacles.

Barnacles stared at him for a second and laughed.  
He had a blush on his delicate face that not even the dark could hide.  
The man gave a small sigh and once again started checking the Captain’s head.

“I'm very sorry about that but anyway... My name is Peso, I am a medic and I am trying to treat your wounds. If you try and hurt me while I do this I will call someone from outside who can hurt you.  
Now, this may sting a bit but I couldn’t clean your wound properly while you were laying down."

Barnacles looked at the pillow he was laying on and it had a nice amount of blood on it.

"I am going to have to get close to you, check your heartbeat, clean off your wound, and if you’re a good patient you could get… you could get?”  
He thought to himself to a long while.  
“I could draw on your bandages... no that doesn’t sound right?”

His indecisiveness made him want to laugh at him.

When he got close to him he could smell a floral scent and the sea. Maybe even a bit of a bird scent. Either the man in front of him was also a shifter or he spent a lot of time bird watching. It made sense since they were on a boat, seabirds come and go a lot.

When he cleaned his wound Barnacles flinched, but this time Peso didn’t even react to his movement.  
He just finished cleaning it off and gently wrapped his head in a bandage.  
He finished and patted the top of his head.

“You should be good for now, but please rest for a few hours and tell me if the pain worsens.”

He gave a soft smile and Barnacles felt his cheeks darken a bit.

“Th-thank you Peso, but why did you treat me? I’m currently your enemy right?”

Peso looked at him puzzled.

“Oh you must not remember me, but as I mentioned I am a medic, I help all creatures who are sick or injured.  
And apparently, I’m not very good with threats.”

Barnacles smiled at that last part and then looked at him confused.  
Remember him? He searched through his memories but couldn’t think of ever seeing this man. Then again it was hard to see him in the first place as the room was slowly getting darker and the sky less vibrant.

There was a knock on the door and Peso went over to look through the window on the door.  
He carefully pushed back the blinds and looked out.  
Peso walked out for a bit but left the door creaked open.

He could hear they were talking but if he strained to listen it made his head ache more.  
He looked around the room and saw many maps covering the walls and a holder for the ones that weren’t. There was a hammock across the room from him and he saw a couple of unlit oil lamps were in there as well.  
As soon as he had finished examining the room, Peso walked in with the same sweet lovely blush on his face. 

He turned back to Barnacles,  
“You’re very lucky I persuaded the captain to let you recover for an hour more or they may have made you beg for your life while you can’t think straight.  
I’d give them a little bit more time until they’re more… hmmm, easier to talk to, yes?” 

Barnacles wasn’t sure if he was looking for an answer but nodded anyway.

Peso went back over to the desk and started working on something and writing things down.  
As messy as he noticed his hair was a moment ago, he still looked very clean. A rarity among pirates and even among ships in general.

“Why are you here Peso?” Barnacles looked at him curiously.

He looked at him for a moment pondering the question. Peso looked back at what he was doing then set his things down. He walked over to him and sat on the other side of the bed, crossing his legs as he sat.

“I will tell you later about me, so enough about that. What about you? What is your name? What things were you doing in Lillisbron? What goods are you carting? Ooo wait do you know Queen Anne personally, you were a captain so it is possible?”

Barnacles waited for him to ask his questions. Each one he asked he got more and more excited about what his answer would be.  
“Um… My name is Barnacles. It was just food and medicine-“

Peso made an excited noise once he heard the last part he said and nodded.

“I er… Don’t know the queen personally, but I have met her before.”  
For some reason he felt so relaxed with him, it’s like he could tell him anything and everything about himself.  
Peso kept asking questions about him in his voice that seemed to be made of honey that poured over Barnacles as he spoke.  
He answered him every time. 

God, he felt he could do anything for that voice.


	5. An alternate perspective to the ship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peso's recount of how the previous chapter had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so I have no idea when I'll actually post this chapter so... yeah I hope you enjoy.  
> Thank you for reading  
> ~Squiji <3
> 
> Ooo wait that reminds me, I have a tumblr where I post my art and even some art of this specific fic (...evntually)! I haven't yet but i most likely will soon. So if you're curious of my version of the characters, check that out and I'll link it here :3  
> https://squijis-art-hole.tumblr.com/

Peso looked at the figure laying in his bed.

The wounds on the back of his head needed to be dressed and cleaned off soon but Peso bet he probably couldn’t lift him without assistance.

Peso stood in front of him and leaned down to start and study his features.  
The man had straight white hair that gently curled at the ends. It was down to his shoulders and framed his head like a halo while he slept.  
He pushed some of the locks of hair off his face so he could study it a little better.  
His strong jawline complimented his dark skin and for some reason his face was perfect with no marks or wrinkles.  
It was also a bit strange that he had completely white hair.

Peso wondered if all of it was white and then blushed at the thought he just had.  
Looking at his head he noticed little fluffy ears sticking out of it and he moved to touch them.  
He rubbed his thumb and forefinger on both ears at the same time.  
He giggled and heard the man make a noise.

Peso immediately ran and hid behind the desk and realized he was just snoring.  
He let out a sigh of relief and went back to messing with the much larger man.

He looked at the outfit he was wearing and noticed it was one of a captain.  
The captain’s uniform was dirty and rumpled from the fight he had put up earlier but there was no mistaking that uniform.  
He stared at him for a little longer and realized he had met him before.

That must have been around… Oh dear five years now?  
He looks exactly the same as then, Peso’s a bit surprised he didn’t recognize him at first.  
After he had studied him for a bit more he heard him actually start to wake up and he walked over to the corner of the room by the window.

He heard him nearly slam his head on the ceiling on the bed and he went back over very worried about him.  
He felt his head wondering if maybe he could have contracted a fever in the short time he was in his care.

“Get away from me,” he had growled at him.

Peso immediately backed up and tried to mask his face with a look of anger over the fear he was definitely feeling. He grabbed Kwazii's knife that he kept on the desk and pointed it at the captain.

He realized it after the man pointed it out that he was not holding the knife that he had been expecting.  
But actually the knife he had used earlier for his lunch.  
Oh merda, that’s embarrassing.

He immediately set it down and tried to hide his shame.  
After a minute of trying to shake off the embarrassment, he introduced himself and explained that he needed to fix his wounds.  
This time he attempted to give the man a more convincing threat.

He probably wouldn’t be able to fulfill that one either but it didn’t matter as long as the captain believed it.  
He got close to him and started wrapped his head slowly, trying not to make it hurt anymore than it probably did.  
While wrapping it he caught the smell of the man he was helping. 

He smelled like the ocean with hints of a minty cologne that had mostly left him.  
Peso was about to tell him how he had met him before when he heard a knock on the door.  
He gave a smile to the man as he walked away opening the door and peeking to whoever had knocked.

Kwazii stood there with a smile on his face and beckoned Peso to come out.  
Peso did and looked at him expectantly.  
They had been sharing the room for a while since Kwazii felt bad for him.  
That and Peso didn’t really want him to have to sleep in the room his grandfather had died in.  
Kwazii most of the time slept in the hammock but they took turns with each other.  
He realized a while ago they slept in the room out of pity for each other but never admitted it to him.

“When can I ‘ave him doc?”  
Peso turned towards the door and thought. If he let him take him now the man might still be wrapped up in his pride as a soldier for the queen. Plus his head probably felt like it was being ripped open currently.  
“Give it a few more hours”  
“I’ll have it ten minutes”  
“2 hours”  
“30 minutes”  
“One hour”  
“One hour,” Kwazii nodded and smiled.  
His gold tooth shined.

Peso went back in and explained to the man the situation.

“Why are you here Peso?”

The question caught him off guard.

The man’s voice was deep and every time he spoke Peso felt it in his own chest.  
Like his heart beat along to what he said to him.

He decided he wanted to know more about him instead of just referring to him as the captain or the man.  
Peso loved how his voice made him feel so he kept asking questions so he’d get to hear it over and over.  
Answering things he asked him and hearing that voice say what it thought.  
He could listen to it for days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Also I had mentioned before that I have decided on an update schedule... I lied lol. I want to update more often but I also have a problem with how this is turning out so maybe you'll get multiple updates a week, maybe you'll just get the usual one.
> 
> Got any ideas for this fic? Don't like how a character is written or you just wish I'd stop putting them in such strange situations? Leave a comment and tell me exactly how you feel!  
> <3


	6. Christmas Au

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is a nice little AU for the holidays.  
> It's just regular Octonuats because I think you guys deserve a break from pirates and the soon to be heartbreak.  
> Peso is wrapping his gift for the secret Santa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!  
> I hope everyone is safe and doing well this holiday.  
> Also some news, I'm uploading this instead of this weeks update. I'm uploading it today because I don't think I can tomorrow or the day after so you get an early (not really) update.  
> Enjoy the story!
> 
> P.S  
> Do you really enjoy octonauts but have no one to talk to about it?   
> Join the octonauts fan-discord!  
> The link only lasts for a day so I'm going to put it in the comments and change it as much as i can until the next update and I'll begin to update it there. We hope to see you there <3

Peso quickly finished wrapping his box with the gift inside it.   
The octopod decided to do a secret Santa this year.

Peso remembered what he thought before he got the name of the person he was to give a gift to.   
‘I don’t know which would be worse to have… Kwazii or Barnacles.'  
Though he cared about them both deeply he didn’t want one to think they had his favor more than the other once they opened their gifts.  
But… it would have been so nice to see their expressions.

He would have probably gotten Kwazii one of those back scratcher things just as a joke. He bet he’d see him actually using it thought and it put a soft smile across his face.  
For Barnacles maybe one of those best boss mugs for his cocoa. He would have liked it a lot.

In the end he got Tweak and had to ask Dash if she knew what she might want. 

He settled on a new torque wrench and some assorted tools.   
The wrench cost him a lot but it would be worth it for her to be happy.

He looked at his finished box and thought for a little bit. It looked so…. Plain?  
Yes, he thought for a bit. But what would make it less boring looking?  
One of pinto’s stickers would be perfect on her box. He put on a little sticker of a seal saying stay cool in bright blue font.

After waiting for it to get a little later in the day so no one would be in the navigation room he snuck up there. 

At one point they were going to put the tree with the Professor in the library but it took up too much sitting space and almost everyone hung out in there so it would just have been such an inconvenience. 

Peso gently put his box under the tree and looked at everyone else’s there.  
He must have been the last one he thought as he counted the boxes there.  
After counting he took a closer look and giggled to himself. It was very obvious who wrapped what. 

The closest box had a very plain wrapping paper… If it had paper at all. Peso couldn’t really tell over the mess of bows and sailors knots covering the entire thing. Kwazii’s handiwork most likely.  
The next gift, well… if you could call it that was just a gift bag tapped shut with a smily face on the front.   
He would guess Dashi since he had learned the hard way she couldn’t wrap anything. He asked her to lend a hand bandaging up creatures one day since he had to help someone else. The poor squid looked like a mummy and took an hour to unravel him.   
The box across from the bag was neatly wrapped in a very no nonsense way. Nice nautical wrapping paper with anchors and fish. No bows no nothing, a perfect square. Barnacles would have probably wrapped it like this.  
Is that?   
Oh dear it looks like someone left their lunch here instead of their gift. It looks like a nicely decorated lunch with rice and a clam decoration in the center of the food. Shellington must have been very tired whenever he put his gift down. Peso only hopped he hadn’t eaten his gift.  
His eyes wandered to the very last two gifts.  
One was a very lovely hand painted box with designs of the ocean and beaches. Professor Inkling must have spent a lot of time on it. He was really the only Ocotnaut who could paint as well with his eight hands than most could with their two. He also had more creativity then all of them put together but that’s besides the point.   
The last box… Peso looked at it. It kind of looked like a puzzle box maybe???? Tweaks handiwork by the looks of it. It had oil on it or maybe dirt, he couldn’t tell.  
He had one last look at his box and smiled. Hopefully they liked their gift  
He heard laughing coming form the direction of the library and got a text to come join everyone.   
It was movie night in the octopod. He laughed and left the tree to join his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have any comments about the story? Hate how a certain character is being written?   
> Tell me about it! Leave a comment and spread you opinions and your comment will be considered.  
> Merry Christmas and Happy holidays everyone!


	7. Barter for your life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Barnacles join the pirates? Will he stage a grand escape? Who knows! (Me, but that's not the point)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovelies once again. I'm sorry it's been a bit since my last update but holidays are rough lol. Sorry I was late with the time of this update too. I usually post my chapters before I head to class but it wasn't one of those days lol. Happy (late) New year and may this one be better than the ones before. I hope you enjoy and have a good day :3
> 
> P.S If you wanna check out where I post my art or if you wanna see my versions of the characters (not up yet sadly, I still haven't finished coloring them... It's a little hard when I can't bring my art supplies everywhere) check out my tumblr:  
> https://squijis-art-hole.tumblr.com/

Barnacles was forced onto his knees and his head was shoved down. The sunset was nearly completely over. The pinks dipped into oranges and into purples. There were white dots showing up, the clouds could still be seen colored by the last of the sunset.  
What a nice day to die.

The pirates were all in their masks and each of the crew were around the corners of the ship looking at him. They still worked on their individual tasks while stealing glances. Not bothered at all by his presence or the high chance that they would be soon be cleaning up his blood.

He looked around for Peso’s shape but couldn’t find it among the masked figures.

The mask looked like a lion without a bottom jaw, it looked like it was made from gold and had silver adornments in the hair.  
The one in the lion mask now stood over him and took off his mask.  
He shook his head to let his hair adjust to no longer having the piece of metal on top of it.

When he first saw him he looked horrible, like a man who had picked himself up out of the gutter just to be thrown back in.  
Now he looked like a captain. His outfit wasn’t very fashionable but the dark colors of it contrasted well with his orange hair and that green eye that seemed to see through him straight to his flaws.

“So mate, do you wanna live or die?  
If you say no and we let ya live…  
If ya somehow get back to wherever you came from they’ll kill you for bein' in league with pirates”

He smiled a little wider at the word pirates and let the word hang in the air for a moment before resuming.

“Or ya stay with us, ya get to live, you can take and ‘ave whatever you want, whenever you want, and you could even rise up the ranks as you did when you were… What were you a captain? Well, you’ll never be that ‘igh but you’ll at least ya'd be better off than dead.”

As he went through he lifted a finger for all the possibilities he could go through.  
His emerald eye continued to stare through him. 

Barnacle's head pounded against his skull as he thought.  
The idea of having to be a pirate almost made him laugh in his face. But self-preservation was currently stronger than his pride.

He looked up to meet the cat’s eye, there was a look of mischief and even a hint of curiousness. He wouldn’t be suppressed if he would be looking forward to blowing his brains out on the deck and making one of his lackeys clean it up just for the hell of it.

“Ah hold up mate. If ya even try ta’ kill me”

He admitted to himself that the thought had crossed his mind, the cat was defenseless and no one was as close as he was.  
He kept the pause for a moment.  
It seemed he really liked traumatic pauses.

“Everyone on this ship will kill you the instant you make a move.”

Barnacles looked at the closest people and they both had a gun in hand.

“I’ll join you”

The words choked Barnacles as he spoke them but he spit them out in the end.

The cat nodded,  
“Good choice mate, very good choice.”

He walked away towards his quarters. Barnacles refused to turn around to watch him go.

The person closest to him wore a mask that looked like a rabbit’s face began approaching.  
It was made of silver and adorned with brass. It stopped around her nose so he could see her snarl. Behind the fake ears of the mask were long, tall ones that made her seem much larger and threatening than she really was. The ears on the mask looked more like horns than it did rabbit’s ears.  
She took off her mask and started undoing his chains.

Her face was strong and had now emotionless expression painted on it.  
Her hair was a grey that had a bluish hint in the light. She had the shortest haircut he had ever seen on a man let alone on a woman. Her ears and mask had hidden it, but up close? He could see how short it truly was.  
It was unfashionable to have short hair and most people let their locks grow past their waists.  
She wore an undershirt under a corset with... trousers?

Did she have any shame?

Pirates must not care how they look.

Her legs were mostly still rabbit-like and a couple of places on her body had the same grey-blue fur.  
Her dark wine colored eyes kept on the locks on his feet and after she finished those she moved onto his hands.

“If ya even think of touchin’ me polar bear, I will nail you to the mast and watch as you suffer from heatstroke.”

She had a strange-sounding accent.  
She was a colonist yet she was all the way in… well they’re on the open ocean and he honestly wasn’t sure where they were but they were last in a small English town.

He nodded and she left him after she finished.

He rubbed his wrists and turned and faced the bunny again.  
She looked at him for a minute.

“If you try and kill any of us in the night you won’t even get three feet before I’ll have you lit on fire.”  
She turned and went into the captain's quarters as well.

A man without a mask walked over to greet him.

“Ah since you’ve joined us, my name is Shellington”

The man had a round face and a Scottish accent.  
Short, ash brown hair was pulled back with a black ribbon.  
His eyes offered a bit of sympathy and his small smile didn’t waver.  
He offered his hand and Barnacles stared at it before taking it.

If he was forced to be here he might as well gain people’s trust.  
It would make escaping easier later.

Shellington smiled then asked him to follow as he showed him where they all would be sleeping. He spoke of little things that Barnacles didn’t really care about but drank the words in any way. When they got to where the cargo hold is it appeared to have been altered to be more roomy. Most had cots that were attached to the wall and had their own privacy walls around them. They looked a bit like rooms, most even had doors on them. 

“So since no one trusts you yet-”  
He didn’t sound worried about offending Barnacles or even trying to hide that no one besides him and Peso had really even talked to him like a person.  
“-you aren’t going to get a nice room, you are lucky though that you don’t have to sleep with the cannons.  
When Ja- I mean the last captain was around he made everyone sleep on the floor next to the cannons… or outside if you were Peso.”

Barnacles stared at him confused.

“Oh… yeah he probably wouldn’t have told anyone that about himself. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that- Anywho this is where you will sleep for a little while.”

It was a simple hammock and had a pillow. 

The ceiling looked like it had a leak and hit on one side of the hammock.

“You’re fortunate that Kwazii- The captain felt nice enough to let you have a pillow.”

They must all be buddy, buddy with each other here if they call them each by name instead of rank. 

He’d have to get to that level.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> It's gonna get interesting soon... Well at least for me >:)  
> Got any ideas for this fic? Don't like how a character is written or you just wish I'd stop putting them in such strange situations? Leave a comment and tell me exactly how you feel!  
> <3


	8. Cats, Rabbits, and Bears... oh my!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just another day on a boat... full of pirates... rather attractive pirates... Oh dear.  
> Oh and Barnacles makes a new friend <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my dears, it's me again! I hope you're doing well and I'm sorry for the late update (again). But in my defense it is still technically Friday. I have a few hours left before any of you can say anything. Well I love ya'll and I hope you enjoy this weeks update!
> 
> Oo also if you enjoy this fic check out:  
> Its_in_the_water 's fic "But I'm a penguin"  
> and  
> @DumbFireHazard and @Captain Kwazii (DumbFireHazard) 's fic Shellington literally looses his fucking shit (or sllhfs)
> 
> P.S If you wanna check out where I post my art or if you wanna see my versions of the characters (mine aren't up yet, but my version of its_in_the_water's characters are :3) check out my tumblr:  
> https://squijis-art-hole.tumblr.com/

Barnacles slapped the mop into the bucket and looked back at his handiwork. 

He had just finished mopping the entire deck. But now he realized, it looked like he hadn’t done a thing. Everyone constantly walked over what he had done and it gradually wore away the clean floor and left a dirt-covered mess.  
He sighed as he realized he needed to redo it.

Looking around everyone was starting to finish their tasks for the day. 

The bunny was done, but even when she wasn’t working, she constantly stared at Barnacles no matter what he did and didn’t care if he noticed.  
He could tell she didn’t really like him and he decided to keep his distance for now.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shellington and some of the other crewmates he hadn’t been introduced to yet unloading boxes and having a spot of trouble with it.

Barnacles decided to leave his mop redoing for later and walked over to help.  
The wood creaked under his boots as he moved the heavy boxes downstairs.

Each of the boxes was full of hardware except for a few that had food.  
The hardware boxes were brought to either the Rabbit’s room or the gun deck.  
While the food was brought to the small kitchen at the bottom of the boat.

The ship’s original cargo hold had been transformed into multiple rooms, with only a little bit of room left to be the cargo hold.   
The rooms were small and a few people shared a room with as many as 3 others, but most were only 2 to a room.

After they finished the captain went and checked out the boxes to make sure they were in the right spot.

Barnacles stood at attention and noticed the people around him were either laughing or looking at him odd.  
The captain walked straight towards him and began walking around him.

His tail swished around Barnacles legs.

“I ‘aven’t seen anyone stand like that for me in quite a while.”

Barnacles began to relax and got a light push from behind.

“Now i didn’t say stop now did I?”

Barnacles had to fight the urge to step on his tail.

The captain nodded to the others in the little cargo hold, signaling that they could leave.  
Barnacles figured he was going to get hit for relaxing without permission but the other man simply sighed and sat down on one of the boxes across from him.

“Mmm, what should I call you mate? I may call you captain as a joke but that may get a bit confusin’ after a bit…  
Your name is a little boring. I'm not gonna lie to ya. It is a little pirate-y, but it doesn’t really roll off the tongue.  
Bar-na-cles,” He sounded out his name and looked at the corner still thinking.

He then shook his head and began walking around barnacles, his tail swished mischievously.

“Oh that reminds me, You’re free for the day. Tomorrow you’re gonna need to mop though. The deck looks horrible.”

The captain leaned onto his toes to get a little taller compared to the very large ex-captain. He looked at his face for a moment and pushed a white strand of hair away from his eyes. Barnacles felt his face turn a slight shade of pink. The captain didn’t seem to notice and leaned on his heels once again.

“Oh and stop callin’ me, captain. My name’s Kwazii, I feel too formal when ya call me tha’.” His tail continued to move around him as he left.

A few sharp pains made themselves known, as Barnacles realized he dug his claws into his arms.  
He pulled them out and saw blood welling in the small wounds.  
If he rolled down his sleeves they would get bloody so he decided to just leave them rolled up for now.

He walked over to his small hammock and sat down.

He rubbed his eyes to try and forget the feeling he had when Kwazii touched him.  
It was bad enough that he had grown an attachment to the doctor he met a few days ago, but now he was getting these feelings with the captain?

He let his eyes wander over to the coat on the ground next to him.  
His original uniform was set on the floor next to him and was folded neatly.  
It was the only thing he really owned besides the clothes they had lent him while he worked.  
A white shirt with blue trousers. They fit him well enough but it felt strange not wearing the uniform.  
The coat that used to resemble his pride and his rank... Now was just a reminder of everything he once was.  
He wanted to be rid of the damnable thing but every time he tried to toss it, a wave of sadness hit him. If he lost that coat it really would mean the man he once was, was gone.

Light footsteps echoed and approached the small cargo hold.  
Before they got to Barnacle's makeshift room, they turned and went into a different one.

The conversation was easily heard through the walls and he listened.

“You said to come to you if the coat ever stopped working?” Peso’s voice filled his ears and his accent made his heart spin.

“‘Course Peso, what’s the problem with it this time?” The rabbit chuckled and started eating something while she spoke to him.

“Ah thank you, the coat isn’t maintaining the cold as it should and it starts getting warm way faster than it should.”

He heard a lot of shuffling and moving around.

“I can’t see what the problem is until I take it apart.  
Don't worry though, I’ll fix it faster than you can say buncha muncha crunchy carrots.”

They laughed and the footsteps began again.  
They walked towards his room once more. This time they didn’t stop.

The man in front of him wore a yellowed linen shirt with small frills around the collar. Over that, he wore a simple blue vest and matching trousers.  
Every time he had the pleasure of seeing the man it always made him wonder what he was doing here with pirates. He usually wore the same things as everyone else but they were much cleaner.

He watched his dark eyes survey him and fall onto his arms.

“Are you alright, what happened to you?”

He remembered his small wounds and watched as Peso walked over and took his left arm to examine it. He pushed his own sleeves up and held his wounds to the light to get a better look at it.

Not much light came down to the cargo hold even if it was still day out, so he had a lamp hung on the wall behind him.

Barnacles began to examine the man a little closer since he was getting the chance.

On his lower arm was a tattoo that had been covered in large claw marks.

The scars were healed but raised the skin and looked as though it wasn’t healed properly. Ironic since it was on the arm of a doctor.  
There were once words there and it was hard to make out just like the symbol in the middle.  
It was familiar but he really couldn’t place it.

Peso glanced at him and saw him staring at his arm.  
He switched to Barnacle's other arm so he couldn't see the tattoo. Peso let his sleeves fall back down.

“I don’t think it’s bad enough to require bandages but please be more careful next time. What happened?”

He met his eyes and gazed at the colors there. The light turned them into a very deep cherry color, unlike when he first met him and saw them as black. 

His delicate hands squished Barnacles cheeks together and he smiled at him.

“I asked you a question tonto.” His accent curled around the last word and it made Barnacles smile. He knew it was meant to be maybe a little offensive but that didn’t stop the blush on his face from deepening.

“I erm, I did it to myself.”

“You must be stressed. God knows I was when I first got here... How about this, you join everyone up on deck while we celebrate the ship's anniversary. Maybe you can get to know everyone a little better. Sounds good, yes?” He took his hands off of his face and he ran his hands through his own hair.

“That sounds lovely Peso, thank you.”

Peso’s face flushed and he smiled.

He turned and left Barnacles alone. As his footsteps got farther away, the warmth he had brought slowly seeped out of the room. The light in his eyes that brightened up the room was dark where it had touched. Where his soft hands had been, only felt empty. He began to feel his loneliness fill the room like a wave.  
He felt a bit of shame in the way he acted around him. He acted like a lovesick child and he hated the way it made him feel. He was supposed to be the perfect soldier, now he was simply a sea dog with a crush on another man. He winced as he tried to cross his arms again and touched his scratches. They don’t hurt badly per se, but it is uncomfortable to touch them. The room was starting to drown him and he stood to go find someone to talk to.

He started walking by the rabbit’s room and stopped, looking in on the open door.  
She unlike most people had a room to herself. Though that was to say, as she shared it with a lot of weapons and strange contraptions.

She was facing away from him and pulling apart a black coat.

Her long ears perked up when she noticed his footsteps and turned to look at him. One of her ears twitched when she saw him.

“What do you want?”

“I came to apologize for making you angry.”

In reality, he had no idea why she was angry at him and was willing to say almost anything to make her able to stomach his presence.  
She huffed and shook her head, turning back to her work.

“Get lost, I don’t like people I don’t trust. An’ I don’t trust you bear.”

“Then how can I gain your trust?”

She set down what she was doing and walked back over to him.

“First you can stop looking at me like I’m doing a great sin by everything I’m doing. Yes, I can see you constantly staring at my legs and pants. An’ yes I can see the way you stare at my hair and ears.”

He had to look down to meet her gaze and nodded. He felt bad after she had pointed out the things he did out.

“Then you can help me with what I’m doing. If you even mess up one thing I swear I’m gonna kill you myself.” She laughed at his expression and gestured for him to follow her to her work desk. 

He began making light conversation with her.  
How did you learn about mechanics? How long have you been on this ship? Light conversation starters that she answered bluntly, if at all.

“Dad taught me.” 

“Few years.”

She started to do things to the black coat and informed Barnacles what to do. The coat had padding inside it that was apparently not working as it was supposed to.  
After assisting her to take all of it out she stared at it for a while.

He thought back to when Peso walked into his room and talked with him.

“Do you know what that tattoo Peso has means?”

She dropped the tools she had in her hand and quickly grabbed it off the floor. She stared at what she was doing for a moment before shaking her head no and continuing to work.

“Don’t bring that up again, ‘specially around him. It’s a sore subject.”

After a bit of poking at some panels, she sighed and looked at him.

“I’m gonna need to actually test each panel individually. I still don’t trust you entirely but you’ve gained some of it helpin’ me. You should get out for this part unless you just want to sit and do nothing.”

Barnacles nodded and turned to leave. 

“Also, my name is Tweak. I hear you’ve just been callin’ me Rabbit.”

She didn’t even lift her head to speak, she just kept working on analyzing the padding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Got any ideas for this fic? Don't like how a character is written or you just wish I'd stop putting them in such strange situations? Leave a comment and tell me exactly how you feel!  
> <3


	9. A pirate's Shindig

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A party on the pirate barge.  
> Maybe it'll be nice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear hello my lovelies. I'm horribly sorry I forgot to update yesterday >^<  
> To be quite honest I don't think anyone really cares it's late but any who I hope anyone who is here enjoys!
> 
> P.S. I made a playlist for Kwazii! I have another for Barnacles here too. It's based more off @Its_in_the_water 's fic But I'm a Penguin?! and the original show. Kwazii's is mainly sea shanties and Barnacles is... well you'll see. ;3  
> (Kwazii) https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1P618sYZ0DOTqAr02FSzYk  
> (Barnacles) https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4yejmFG1CuPCnqx0b3XCr2
> 
> Also again if you wanna check out where I post my art or if you wanna see my versions of the characters (mine aren't up yet, but my version of its_in_the_water's characters are :3) check out my tumblr:  
> https://squijis-art-hole.tumblr.com

Barnacles left Tweak’s room with a bit of a smile.

He made his way up the stairs to the deck and saw the crew he didn’t recognize starting to set up for what they were doing later. Kwazii was with them but constantly went into the captain’s quarters to grab things and bring them out. He always took care to make sure the door closed behind him.

Barnacles asked if they needed help and they greeted him and nodded. One of them went to Kwazii and spoke something to him in a different language. 

Kwazii nodded and walked over to Barnacles.

“Alright mate, I heard you have a hand or two to spare? I’m gonna need you to grab some of the empty crates and set them up as chairs for us. Then help me light all the lanterns and the lamps when it starts getting darker.”

Barnacles began doing as he was told and carried crates up and then going back down to grab more. Anytime he would walk by Kwazii, he would wink at him and would smile when he saw his reaction.

Once sunset seemed to be near its end everyone slowly began to come out of their rooms and set themselves up on a crate. A few people even brought instruments with them.

Shellington carried panpipes and smiled at Barnacles when they noticed each other. One of the non-English speaking members brought out what looked like a drum. A few other instruments were brought out and people began warming up. 

Barnacles lit the lights and began to absorb the music. It sounded strange since no one was playing at the same time as the other, let alone the same song but it was still interesting to hear. The sounds screeched around some, but flowed off others.Kwazii came out of the captain's quarters with Peso holding a violin and went to the middle crate next to Barnacles. Peso sat on the other side of Kwazii, close enough to Barnacles that he knew he was there and could possibly even hear him speak. But blocked by the cat enough to where he couldn't see his gentle face and his kind eyes very well.

As he sat down he crossed his legs and gestured for Peso to pass him the instrument. Peso made a face that conveyed a look of annoyance but passed the case to their captain. Kwazii snapped it open and brought the wooden instrument to his neck. 

It was nearly impossible to hear anything over everyone’s "music". The notes that had interested Barnacles, now clawed at his sensitive ears.

As impossible to recognize anything over the noise, everyone seemed to stop once they head the violin being played. It was strange that the instrument could get everyone's attention as suddenly as it did. Kwazii stopped, looked at everyone, and began to play a different song. 

The notes rolled off the tight strings and soothed Barnacle's ears. After the main melody of the song began to play for a second time, everyone with an instrument began to join in. Barnacles didn’t recognize the song they were playing, it was smooth and flowed like the sea around them. He gentle tapped his hand on his lap and closed his eyes to better hear it.

Soon the song began to pick up the pace due to Kwazii speeding up what he was playing. A few people stood up and began to dance. It didn't matter if they held an instrument or their hands were empty. Laughter filled the deck and warmed the air around them. Soon everyone who wasn’t dancing or playing began clapping to the beat.

Kwazii began to sing the words to the song. If Barnacles didn't know the man was a cat based of his appearance, he would have known based off the shrill voice that escaped his throat. His voice wasn’t the nicest to listen to but he sang the words well and happily, laughing when he got to certain parts.

"Twas was a dark day in Baltimore, When I left for the sea.

I began to go get dressed and leave, Me wife she called and asked me:

'For how long shall ye be then, When shall I expect you home?'

I told her Lass! Forget about me and just leave it be!

Leave it be, Oh just leave it be

Leave it be, Oh just leave it be

Leave it be, Oh just leave it be

I told her Lass Oh just go on, forget about me. Leave it be, As I part for the sea!"

He stood up and began to dance while he played and sang.

He encouraged people to stand and dance with him.

Barnacles heard someone singing the high part to the song and once he learned the repetitive chorus he joined in as the low. Kwazii looked over at him as he sang and smiled at him. His smile was infectious and Barnacles couldn't contain a chuckle looking at him. Kwazii moved over to him and nudged side with his hip, nodding towards the people dancing.

The infectious joy that everyone was experiencing seemed to have a taken Barnacles as well. He couldn’t stop himself from joining their fun. He began to dance with those around him, they held hands and spun before switching to the next person. 

He noticed Peso still sitting down and he nodded for him to join him. Peso smiled then nodded and moved to dance with him. He laughed when Barnacles spun him and held onto his arms when he dipped him before switching partners. He caught a glimpse of Peso and Kwazii dancing together. Their moves were in sync and they smiled at each other.

He turned his attention back to his current partner and tried to continue to enjoy himself. She had dark brown hair that barely hid floppy dog ears. Her skin was dark and her cheeks were flushed from the excitement. She wore a short pink dress that was cut a little below the knees so she could move around better. Anytime he tried to focus on her his eyes always glanced over at the other two figures dancing. There was a small bit of cold envy in the warmth of his chest. He wanted to continue to dance with Peso and shook the thought out of his head. He would get his chance again. His partner was able to see who he was turning his attention to and she looked at him a little confused. 

All the songs they played were loud and energetic. They were all about life on the sea along with mermaids and attractive women. Of course, there were a few that Kwazii changed the words to for laughs. Like instead of a wife he would have a husband or he would like to make up names for the characters in the songs.

After a couple more songs everyone collapsed onto their crates laughing and out of breath. Kwazii set his violin down on his crate and looked over at Peso. He asked him something and after getting a nod he set down his violin. He stood up and began walking around, flashing a mischievous smile.

“Alright we can do that again in a bit but first, it’s time for stories.”

Kwazii was addicted to telling stories and loved to tell the scariest ones he could think of.

First, he started off with a demon fish that lived in the deep. Its dark black fins were bigger than this entire ship and its deep wine red eyes never blinked. It ate anything that went near its monstrous maw. He poked fun at Tweak and said maybe she was the monster, pointing at her eyes. She hit him in the shoulder when he walked near her.

Then was the one about the sirens that sang to lure sailors to their death. They sing and force people to do their bidding, which usually was to be their dinner. Sometimes they’d force sailors to stay and help lure their comrades to their deaths. One man was able to leave because for some reason their voices had no real effect on him. Their feminine and enchanting calls had no effect on the sailor as he tried to save his friends.

He was about to dive into another tale when Barnacles last dancing partner interrupted him.

She sat on a crate with her legs crossed delicately in front of her. 

“Kwazii, give someone else a turn.”

“Ah Dashi but I was jus’ about to get ta the good part of this one.”

“Please, we all know you just started it,”

“Awe but the good part always start at the beginning,” He winked at her and got a laugh from it.

“Fine one more and then it’s someone else’s turn. And I mean it this time.” She looked at him and nodded when he looked at her like a scolded child.

After that people exchanged stories of their lives or of just stories they made up like Kwazii.

Dashi, told stories from when she was a spy for the French. She constantly switched accents and told about when she stole jewels from the Prussian king himself. She moved her short hair over her lips to mimic a beard.

Tweak told about the first time she built a boat from scratch and a story about flying ships.

Soon it was Barnacle's turn. He really didn’t know what to tell them so he thought for a while so they skipped him and Shellington told one about some discoveries he had made.

Shellington was the cartographer on the ship and he studied both sea and star maps.

What should he tell them about himself? He could always tell one about his life as a captain but that felt a little too personal. His hands brushed past the small scratches on his arms once again and he decided to set his hands on his lap. Hold on he shouldn't be getting attached to these people. He shook his head and took a deep breath, when he let out the air in his lungs it came out as more of a sigh.

Kwazii leaned over and whispered to him.

“Whatcha gonna tell us mate?” Kwazii had sat down once he was told to give other’s a turn at telling their tales.

He smiled at him and leaned onto Barnacles broad shoulder and continued talking to him.

“You could always tell us the one about being kidnapped by pirates?” Kwazii joked and laid his head on him. His ears flicked around his neck while his hair tickled his chin. Barnacles swallowed hard on his own spit, fearing that this cat was going to kill him without doing a single thing.

“I don’t think it would be in good taste the way I might describe you.” Barnacles responded, trying to take his mind off of the fact the man was so close to him.

Kwazii cackled at that one and earned a mildly annoyed look from Shellington as he resumed his story.

“That is a fair point mate, well you could tell one about some deep-sea monsters if you know any.”

“You know I think I’ll leave the storytelling to you, you are rather good at it.”

Kwazii’s smile widened and he put his arm around his other shoulder.

“Awe mate now you’re just flattering me. But if you insist on giving up your turn I won’t turn down more story tellin’ time.”

He jokingly kissed his jaw as he pushed away from him. He stood up and began to tell another story, cutting off Shellington. Kwazii dodged a boot the was thrown at him and laughed, immediately getting hit by one from Tweak. He turned to say something and then got hit by Shellington's other one.

Barnacles stared at the wooden plank floor, did he just? The noises around him dulled and all he could do was touch the spot on his face he had felt his lips on. This is going t be a lot more difficult than he intended it was going to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> (Also for whichever one of you made a comment on how it was weird Dashi was a pirate, this one is for you lol)  
> Got any ideas for this fic? Don't like how a character is written or you just wish I'd stop putting them in such strange situations? Leave a comment and tell me exactly how you feel!


	10. A short story from a past life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small story told by Barnacles from his life as a queen's man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear I'm horribly sorry to anyone who keeps up with my fic.  
> It's been two weeks and I usually update on time. I hate to have to say this but things are going on right now and I think I wont be able to keep up my schedule for a while. School is kiiiiilling me.  
> Since I won't be updating with a schedule, to make up I'll update anytime I finish two chapters. I usually work by writing a couple chapters ahead. This update I finished writing this update as I went. It's been a rough little bit and I hope this apology makes up for it.   
> Anywho sorry again and I hope you enjoy the update!
> 
> Also, Also again if you wanna check out where I post my art or if you wanna see my versions of the characters (mine still aren't up yet, but a few of my versions of its_in_the_water's characters are :3) check out my tumblr:  
> https://squijis-art-hole.tumblr.com

Barnacles had finally been introduced to everyone and learned their names.

The people who didn’t speak English were nicknamed things like Turnip and Halibeet. Their original names he was told were rather hard to pronounce so they were nicknamed after their favorite foods to cook. They were the muscles and the chefs of the ship. 

Really only Shellington and Dashi could translate what they were saying and respond in their language back to them. Everyone but Barnacles could at least catch small things so Shellington took mercy on him and sat next to him. He leaned over and translated what they said for him.

A few more stories later everyone seemed to be getting tired and a few people got up to go to bed. They took a lantern and went downstairs.

Soon even Kwazii went to bed, he patted Barnacles on the shoulder and turned to Peso. Before he left they began to decide on who would have to sleep in the hammock tonight.

He didn’t really understand it but it made him chuckle at the way they bantered.

“I’ve had to sleep in that thing for a week”

“Yeah, it was because I woke up sore on Saturday,”

“-Odelay you're going to pull that card? And whose fault was that, Captain?” He spit the name at him like an insult.

“Yeah-yeah fine... I’ll let you have it tonight I guess. But i get it back tomorrow!” 

Before Peso could argue, Kwazii ran off with a lantern and blew a kiss in their direction.

The two of them argued like siblings and Barnacles wouldn’t be surprised if he told him they knew each other since childhood. Barnacles never had friends like that. He was always very competitive growing up and as a result, not many people liked him. To rise in the ranks as fast as he did you'd have to understand that friends weren't something you should expect to have. 

His attention snapped back on Peso and he realized he was watching him. He still sat on the crate he was when they first got there and he looked away when their eyes met.

His face was red and he was sweating. He was still trying to steady his breathing. The night they had must have taken a lot out of him.

He wore the same outfit from earlier, again with his sleeves rolled up but this time without the vest. It was unbuttoned enough for him to cool down, it tortured Barnacles how much skin he could see. Ivory skin showed, flushed with a delicate pink. His lovely white and black hair was braided over his shoulder, Dashi’s handiwork.

She had done it while tweak was talking about a whale that had crushed her uncles whaling boat. Earlier he had sat in front of her while she carefully divided his hair. Barnacles sneaked glances as her hands weaved the curls together. After that she tried to cool him down by fanning him with her hand. Barnacles had laughed it off earlier but it is a bit concerning how red he still is. 

The air even with everyone gone was warm. The wind would cool it off soon but for now, it was uncomfortable.

“Did you have fun?”

His voice startled him out of his analysis.

“Ah, yes. People have a lot of interesting stories here and very fun to dance with. But are you alright? You look like you need to cool down.”

He felt his heart thump against his ribs when Peso gave him a light smile and waved his hand at him.

“I’m fine, just a little hot at the moment. But anyway, if you’re referring to Kwazii’s stories, he always loves to tell his favorites when there’s someone new, I swear I've heard the mermaid one ten times already.”

He tugged at his braided hair and ran the ends through his fingers.

“You didn’t tell one though Barnacles.” Peso regarded him curiously.

“Would you like to hear one from me?” He looked at Peso questioningly.

He nodded and that lovely smile reappeared.

“What would you like to hear then?”

He shrugged in response and allowed Barnacles to think.

He could tell him about the one voyage when he escorted the British ambassador to the Spanish crown but... that was a bit boring besides when he was in front of the royalty. 

Hmmm.. What about the time he had to fight against pirates and took down sev- Ah well, that would be in poor taste since he was now technically a pirate.

There was always the one where he first became a captain and he nearly got killed by his second in command?

He nodded to himself and decided to tell it to him. It was a rather short story and he wasn’t the best storyteller.

* * * * * * * * * *

When I was young and first rose the ranks I was stationed on a ship called the Victory. One of the first jobs as the captain of the Victory was to help cart tea over from China.

It wasn’t the kind of thing the ship or us stationed there were built for, but the tea was special. It was to be drunk at a conference of Kings and Nobles. So it needed a bit more monitoring than a single cargo ship.

Our ship was built for war not exactly for speed. At least compared to the merchant ships.  The voyage itself turned out to be a little longer than a month, but it felt like years.

The higher powers decided to make us take and give some of our crew with the merchant ships and the other ships protecting them. 

To help us “get along” better. It didn’t work. Not even a little at first.

When we first tried to get along and meet the new crew mates some were kind, others didn’t care about making friends. They just did their work and went to bed. 

One day I was steering the ship and I heard one of the crew mates from the other ship talking behind me about how they think they don’t think the tea is going to get where we were going. 

He was boasting about it even. He most likely did it on purpose… or maybe he was a fool who didn’t realize I was english. Either way, he ended up in the ocean after telling me about a mutiny that was being planned.

The next day I wasn't surprised when I heard someone trying to sneak into my room at night. 

The door was locked, yet it slid open so easily. I felt them put their hand on my throat and try and choke me.

I recognized the smell of a specific rum and knew who it was. 

My second in command was a man of few joys, his favorite joy was an alcohol made from his home town. He had told me once that, “It was the only thing that could make me feel alive. It could drag you out of the gutter, just to throw you back in.”

He was a stupid and arrogant fellow that got drunk to do a murder.

I grabbed his arms and slammed him against the bed. The smell of the drink on his lips burned my nose. 

I tried to ask him what he was doing and he responded by staring at me. I had known that man for a while and i had never seen such a look of anger on anyone let alone the man who stood next to me almost the entire day. I had seen him smile and laugh, but those expressions of content had been burned away but hate.

I honestly don’t know how he moved so fast but he pulled out a knife and cut a small piece of my ear off. It isn’t noticeable over all the hair but if you ever feel my ears or if I cut my hair you’d know.

My hand found the one with the knife and crushed his slender fingers.

A fine punch found his jaw and he was out.

Everyone apart of the mutiny was either kicked off the boat into the water, shot, or kept in the hold. 

The tea made it to the crown just fine.

I was given thanks and some tea before being pushed off to fight a new battle.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!)  
> Got any ideas for this fic? Don't like how a character is written or you just wish I'd stop putting them in such strange situations? Leave a comment and tell me exactly how you feel!  
> Also a mini reminder, I wont be able to keep up my update schedule for now. Think of it as a semi hiatus except I'll post sometimes.


End file.
